Category: Blogs
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Preventing Pastoral Burnout
I was recently honored and invited to speak to a group of leaders who serve providing care for the credentialed ministers in their Ministry Network. Specifically, they are called upon to build relationships and help those serving as lead or staff pastor in their Network churches be spiritually, relationally, and emotionally healthy. No small task…
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You Asked For It
In the You Asked for It Podcast, we answer questions you have always wanted to ask. Now, we might not have all the answers, but we’re willing to have the conversation. That’s right. Instead of just talking at you, we want to have a conversation with you. We’re looking forward to spending a little time…
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4 More Years
Today is December 1st, and in our home that is a pretty significant day. 12 years ago today we welcome our 2nd child, Hailey into the world and the world has never been the same. Birthdays are a big deal in our home, which means we have lots of great December 1st memories. Times Square…
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What Will It Cost You
We all face challenges in life. We all have barriers or walls that stand in the way of us getting from where we are to where we want to be. Jim and Elisabeth Elliot were one of five couples who responded to God’s call to evangelize the Huaorani people of Ecuador, and one of the…
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Lost My Sucker
I’ve been traveling a bit more than usual as of late. Over the years I have done my fair share of traveling for vacations, mission’s trips and various speaking engagements, but in the past two weeks I have flown in or out of Chicago, Miami, Panama, Bolivia, Milwaukee, and Los Angeles. It was my most…
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The Insanity of God
I will be forever grateful for a few things from this year’s 21-day fast. First of all, I will never forget the way my church embraced God’s calling to come together and fast. Men and women, boys and girls, of all ages, all walks of life, took a step of faith from their comfort zones…
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The Difficulties of Unplugging on Vacation
It was well over a year ago that I first read the personnel manual of the church that had elected me to be their new lead pastor. It was not the first church that I had been called by God to lead, but it was the first that had gone out of their way to…
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What is your favorite season?
What is your favorite season? What do you like best about it? Now let me ask you what season you look forward to the least? Why? We all have our reasons for preferring one season over another, just as we may have our reasons for disliking aspects of one or more season. I have a…
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Two Questions
There are only two questions you need to ask yourself; are you happy or are you unhappy? If you are happy, then you have nothing to worry about. If you are unhappy, there are two simple questions you need to ask yourself; will you be happy or will you stay unhappy? If you’ll be happy,…
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Did not understand
Quick thought for today. When Jesus fed the 5,000 in Mark 6, the disciples had a front row seat. They saw some pretty amazing things in their day, and this had to be atop the list. Problem is, they didn’t get it. They did not understand what was going on. From their limited perspective they…
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Footprints in the Snow
Last night I had a dream. I dreamed I was walking along the beach with the Lord. Across the sky flashed scenes from my life. For each scene, I noticed two sets of footprints in the snow: one belonged to me, the other to the Lord. After the last scene of my life flashed before me, I…
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What do you need to change in the new year?
Happy New Year. As the Christmas season settles down we quickly turn our attention to the end of the year “best of” lists and begin thinking about what the new year holds. As one year gives way to the next it is all too easy to make simple comparisons and even begin to become anxious…
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I believe Jesus can…turn your world upside down to put things in place.
The shortest distance between two points is a straight line. Although that may hold true for two-dimensional objects, life has taught many of us that you can’t always get where you are going by following a straight line. As we look through the stories in the Bible we find that very rarely do any of…
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A Low View of Marriage
O be careful little eyes what you see O be careful little eyes what you see For the Father up above Is looking down in love So, be careful little eyes what you see Many of us remember that believed children’s song that we possibly sang at Vacation Bible School or in Children’s Church growing up. The…
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Pray, and get help
Experts are predicting as many as 400 pastors, deacons, elders and church staff members may resign this Sunday as part of the fallout from the recent Ashley Madison hack. In his article for Christianity Today, Ed Stetzer gives some advice for those churches affected. His most helpful comments come in the last two sentences…PRAY.
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After the Honeymoon
“Getting married is the easy part. Knowing what to do when you wake up as Mr. and Mrs. takes some intentional work.” –me I was honored to be asked to review a good friend’s (Rod Loy)book that is now available. If you are recently married, or know someone about to, check out “After the Honeymoon.”
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New Room
No profound thought, deep insight, or thought provoking quote today, just something that struck me as we had dinner last night. In the 2 1/2 years that we have been in our home it was the very first meal that we have ever eaten in our dining room. In fact, up until this last weekend…
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Didn’t See Him
Most of us have a routine in the morning, mine begins with waking up at 5:30, spending time with God, and ends with me grabbing a dress shirt on my way out the door around 8:15. There are a lot of variables in between the alarm clock and me reaching for my car keys, the biggest…
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To Shoot Par
What does “to shoot par” mean for you? I learned this weekend that it all depends on who you spend time with. I enjoy the game of golf and I have strengthened many of friendships on the links. I initially took up the game of golf while in high school as something I could do with my…
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Another June 3rd
Today I got to update my about page: There have been many who have asked, drugs and even a few incorrect attempts at guessing what June3rd means, written about over the years. It was never meant to be a mystery or any secret code, but since you inquired I will set the record straight. June…
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Thank You
On a recent family visit to Arlington National Cemetery we went inside one of the visitor centers where we found a guest book to sign. This was not simply a guest register like found at several park trails, for sale but a book to share your appreciation for those who have fought and served and paid…
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Rule Over Us
The Israelites said to Gideon, “Rule over us–you, your son and your grandson–because you have saved us from the hand of Midian.” But Gideon told them, “I will not rule over you, nor will my son rule over you. The LORD will rule over you.” (Judges 8:22-23, NIV) You have to respect the heart of…
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CAUTION, What you can’t see may hurt you
Family vacations are great. I have met people who dread family vacations as they go on about the driving, the lines for the attractions, and being cramped with the family for an extended period of time. For me, the driving time is just quality time, and we get along remarkably well as a family and…
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The Elephant in the Marriage
One year ago, almost to the day, I penned my first word in what would become my first completed manuscript. I only shared this project with a few close friends as I was starting out, and each and every one of them has asked the same question that I have heard from almost everyone else…
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Do You See What I See?
“Do you see what I see?” Isn’t it amazing how often we can be standing right next to someone, looking in the same direction, and see the same thing so differently. Henry David Thoreau famously quipped, “It’s not what you look at that matters, it’s what you see.” We can be absolutely convinced that we…
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I Cannot Do It
“I cannot do it,” Joseph replied to Pharaoh, “but God will give Pharaoh the answer he desires.” Genesis 41:16 (NIV) Many of us reading this are familiar with the story of Joseph being called before Pharaoh to interpret his dream. It is a great story that teaches (and preaches) on so many different levels. Today…
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Metrics of a Healthy Church?
In the January “Called to Serve” ministers letter L. Alton Garrison shared some interesting findings that I thought I would share here today: Recently, Dr. Michael Clarensau has completed an intensive study of a decades’ worth of ACMRs to determine what metrics might help you determine the health of your church. Based on his research,…
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Is Tried
Nobody is perfect. You and I both have heard that before, but some of us really struggle with wondering if our “good enough” is good enough. Those nagging doubts infect our relationship with our spouse, our children, our job, and even with God. The Bible helps us out on that last one and lets us…
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Fasting the iPad
Yesterday our church kicked off our annual 21 days of a corporate fast. Our 7 year old daughter shared with us yesterday that she is praying about fasting from the iPad that our three kids received for Christmas from a close family friend. Our 5 year old son didn’t miss a beat when he added…
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The Institution of Marriage
Recently, a good friend shared an article that was published in the New York edition of the New York Times that was later reposted online and appears on the New York Time’s website (tinyurl.com/nsyb3gk). The article is titled “The Divorce Surge Is Over, but the Myth Lives On” and discusses how, despite the drop in the divorce…
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Shoot for the Moon
One of my personal favorite quotations from C.S. Lewis is, “Aim at Heaven and you will get Earth ‘thrown in’: aim at Earth and you will get neither.” I love this quote because there is so much packed into it, as it is true on so many levels from so many different perspectives. This is…
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Never Run Alone
Today my wife logged in her 3, tadalafil 001st mile since she started running just 3 ½ years ago. I couldn’t be any more proud of her. Sure she has a wall of bibs, medals, and a closet full of race shirts and jackets, but it is her steady persistence that has encouraged me so…
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Catching the Wrong Train
Yesterday I had the chance to once again travel into Washington DC to participate in the Potomac Ministry Network’s NEXT. This time around John May and Mark Batterson had invited Darren Hileman to join them in challenging young leaders take the “NEXT step in their life and ministry”. As has been the case over the…
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All I Want for Christmas
Say what you mean, and mean what you say. I say it over and over again in working with couples struggling to connect. One of the challenges that they need to overcome is this innate tendency to not truly say what they mean and to not mean what they say. Think about it. Today is…
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It all starts with perspective
Our perspectives are the objective, rational observations of objects or events. Our perspectives are the literal point of view from where we are standing. Our perceptions are the subjective interpretation of those observations. Our perspectives inform our perceptions and it is our perceptions that focus on emotionally connecting the dots of what we saw and…
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#CatalystNext
Perhaps you have heard @Mark Batterson say it before, sick but he would rather have “One God idea than 1, 000 good ideas.” Yesterday at the CatalystNext conference in Washington DC forward thinking leaders from the region gathered to hear challenging words that just may inspire a God idea.
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58,272 names etched
My girls are growing up. My son is too, but there is something different about turning 7 (in just 3 weeks) or being 8 ½. At four years old Christian is all too innocent, unbelievably cute and adorable; his youth protects him from so much that you and I experience each and every day.
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lifetime of miracles behind us
“Sometimes we are so busy complaining about what hasn’t happened, story ignoring the lifetime of miracles behind us.” –Steve Kramer (missionary) It is always challenging to hear someone who the world would say has every reason to complain reminding you that you have every reason to be grateful. Steve was born a few months premature…
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The Struggle
Last night my wife and I spent the evening with Tenth Avenue North (courtesy of some complimentary tickets from our friends over @ WRBS 95.1). Although we truly enjoy their music, we are not sure that we have it in us to travel two hours in traffic and stay out late for concerts anymore. Our…
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Paul Young
What a blessing to have Wm. Paul Young with us for the weekend. If you haven’t heard his amazing story that he shared Saturday night, I highly recommend you make time to listen to it. . I was talking to him outside my office Sunday morning and commented that if he started writing non-fiction he’d be a…
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BIg Daddy Weave
What a powerful night of ministry with Mike Weaver and the rest of Big Daddy Weave. I have to admit, sales this was the first time that I was ever invited onto a tour bus for some Dominos Pizza.
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74th Commencement
Great day at the 74th Commencement ceremony for Valley Forge Christian College with commencement speaker Mark Batterson as I was one of two alumni honored.